Hollywood actor Val Kilman, who played Batman passes away aged 65; Read on

Val Kilmer, the Juilliard-trained actor from California known for his roles in films such as Top Gun, The Doors, Tombstone, and Batman Forever, has passed away at the age of 65, according to a report from The New York Times. The publication, citing his daughter Mercedes Kilmer, stated that the cause of death was pneumonia.

During the 1990s, Kilmer was one of Hollywood’s most prominent leading men. However, his career suffered due to conflicts with directors and co-stars, as well as a series of box office disappointments. Over time, he developed a reputation for being intense, perfectionistic, and difficult to work with. Addressing criticism about his demeanor, Kilmer once told the Orange County Register in 2003 that he believed people who called him demanding were simply covering for their own shortcomings. He asserted that he was challenging rather than demanding and felt no need to apologize for that.

Kilmer made his film debut in the spy comedy Top Secret! (1984) before starring in Real Genius (1985), a lighthearted college comedy. His career soared after he played Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun alongside Tom Cruise. Decades later, he reprised the role in the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

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He went on to star in director Ron Howard’s fantasy film Willow (1988), during which he met and married his British co-star Joanne Whalley. The couple had two children before eventually divorcing.

One of Kilmer’s most challenging performances was in Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic The Doors, where he portrayed Jim Morrison, the legendary and ill-fated lead singer of The Doors. To convince Stone to cast him, Kilmer created an eight-minute video of himself performing as Morrison at different stages of the singer’s life. The film featured Kilmer’s own singing voice in place of Morrison’s.

Following The Doors, Kilmer entered the peak years of his career. He portrayed the legendary gunslinger Doc Holliday in the 1993 Western Tombstone and starred in two major films in 1995: Heat, where he shared the screen with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, and Batman Forever, in which he took over the role of Batman from Michael Keaton.

However, Batman Forever received lukewarm reviews, with critics describing it as loud, excessive, and sluggish. Kilmer’s performance was overshadowed by his co-stars Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey. He ultimately decided not to return for the next installment of the franchise. Director Joel Schumacher later described Kilmer as the most psychologically troubled actor he had ever worked with.